Sharing the journey – Reflections on our academic selves

The immense importance of teaching quality – especially for advancing equity – has been underscored by a robust body of research and reports in recent decades (e.g., Akiba et al., 2007; Darling-Hammond, 2000; UNESCO, 2014, 2024). Yet what we mean and understand by ‘teaching quality’ varies across time and space (Darling-Hammond, 2021). Moreover – and crucially for educational researchers, policymakers, and other key stakeholders – the means through which we can research teaching quality vary widely (Thomas et al., 2025).

This symposium therefore examines the intimate relationship between conceptualisations of teaching quality and the methodological approaches employed to study it. It further explores the role of context and considerations for studying teaching quality in international or comparative perspective through 4 papers as well as a brief introduction and discussion. The Symposium Organiser (Author 1) will first introduce the symposium topic, goals, and four papers. Then, the first paper (Authors 2 & 3) will discuss how the role of context may mediate both the conceptual and methodological study of teaching quality, drawing on several cross-national examples for illustration. In the second paper, Authors 4 & 5 will discuss arts-based approaches that could be utilised to study teaching quality, including how they might attend to contextual and conceptual differences. Author 1 will then discuss the promises and perils of observational research – including both ethnographic and highly-structured/quantitative protocols – for studying teaching quality around the world. In the fourth and final paper, Author 6 will present varied approaches to systematic literature reviews, which have become increasingly common in educational research (including on teaching quality), and the challenges of carefully considering their design so key contextual nuances are not lost. The Discussant will then offer reflections across presentations. Collectively the symposium will offer unique conceptual, methodological, and contextual insights on researching teaching quality.